Recessible integrated pocket clip for mobile devices and the like

ABSTRACT

In one embodiment, an apparatus comprising a housing and a fastener, such as a clip ( 101,   201 ) for fastening the apparatus ( 100, 200 ) to an article of clothing. The housing ( 102, 202 ) has a recess ( 103, 203 ) formed therein, such that at least a portion of the fastener is adapted to fit within the recess. The fastener is adapted to travel slidably within the recess ( 103, 203 ) between a first position in which the fastener enables the apparatus ( 100, 200 ) to be fastened to an external object and a second position in which the fastener is stowed away.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to portable devices, and, in particular,to a pocket clip that can be integrated into the housing of a portabledevice.

2. Description of the Related Art

With the rise of the use of mobile communication devices, manyindividuals are now using devices such as mobile telephones, personaldigital assistants (PDAs), handheld and palmtop computers, email and webappliances, and other communications, information-processing, and/orstorage devices (collectively, “mobile devices”).

When a mobile device is not in use, the user typically places the devicein a pocket or purse to carry it around. Some users attach their mobiledevices to a separate holster or sleeve component that clips to a beltor pant waistline for storage. Some mobile devices include a clip orother fastener as part of the housing of the mobile device, typically onthe back of the device, so that a user may directly attach or clip themobile device to his or her clothing, belt, or purse.

However, increased girth of the mobile device attributable to the clipand/or holster protruding from the housing can make gripping and usingthe device cumbersome and awkward.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Problems in the prior art are addressed in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention by providing a recessible integratedpocket clip for mobile devices and the like.

In one embodiment, the present invention provides an apparatuscomprising a housing and a fastener (such as a clip for fastening theapparatus to an article of clothing). The housing has a recess formedtherein, such that at least a portion of the fastener is adapted to fitwithin the recess. The fastener is adapted to travel slidably within therecess between a first position in which the fastener enables theapparatus to be fastened to an external object and a second position inwhich the fastener is stowed away.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other aspects, features, and advantages of the present invention willbecome more fully apparent from the following detailed description, theappended claims, and the accompanying drawings in which like referencenumerals identify similar or identical elements.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a mobile device including a recessibleintegrated pocket clip consistent with a first embodiment of the presentinvention, with broken lines showing the contours of a slot formedwithin the housing, for receiving and engaging the recessible integratedpocket clip;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the recessible integrated pocket clip ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the recessible integrated pocket clip ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the slot within the housing and associatedcomponents for receiving and engaging the tab of the recessibleintegrated pocket clip of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the recessible integrated pocket clip ofFIG. 1 and the slot of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view illustrating the latch mechanism beingmoved from a position in which the clip protrudes to a position in whichthe clip is recessed;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 6, but illustrating thelatch mechanism in a position in which the clip is recessed; and

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, butillustrating the latch mechanism being moved from a position in whichthe clip is recessed to a position in which the clip protrudes;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a mobile device including a recessibleintegrated pocket clip consistent with a second embodiment of thepresent invention, with broken lines showing the contours of a slotformed within the housing, for receiving and engaging the recessibleintegrated pocket clip;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the recessible integrated pocket clipof FIG. 9; and

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an exemplary mobile phone consistent withone embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to FIG. 1 through FIG. 8, and to FIG. 1 in particular, amobile device 100 including a recessible integrated pocket clip 101 (the“clip”), consistent with a first embodiment of the present invention isillustrated. Mobile device 100 has a housing 102 having formed therein arecess 103 adapted to receive clip 101, so that the outer face of theelongated portion 104 of clip 101 is flush with housing 102. Clip 101has a hook 105 at a bottom end of elongated portion 104 and a tab 106 ata top end of elongated portion 104. The contours of recess 103 areformed to match the contours of clip 101. Accordingly, as shown inbroken lines within housing 102, a bottom end of recess 103 is formed asa hook area 107 for receiving hook 105, and a top end of recess 103 isformed as a slot 108 for receiving tab 106. A switch 109 may be locatedwithin slot 108 for controlling one or more functions of mobile device100, as will be described in further detail below.

As will be described in further detail below, tab 106 is sufficientlysmaller than the open area defined by slot 108 and is slidably disposedwithin slot 108 to permit clip 101 to travel between a position in whichclip 101 is stowed-away, i.e., recessed within housing 102, and aposition in which the use of clip 101 is enabled, i.e., clip 101protrudes from housing 102 to permit mobile device 100 to be fastened toclothing or another external object. Relative translational movementbetween tab 106 and slot 108, as illustrated by arrow 110 in FIG. 5,moves clip 101 between these two positions. A latch mechanism isoperatively associated between tab 106 and slot 108 and includes atab-latch component 111 (best seen in FIG. 2, FIG. 3, and FIG. 5) on tab106 and a slot-latch component 112 (best seen in FIG. 4 through FIG. 8)disposed within slot 108. Although FIG. 1 does not show any part of thelatch mechanism, FIG. 1 does show slot 108, where slot-latch component112 and other associated components (best seen in FIG. 4 through FIG. 8)for receiving and engaging tab 106 of clip 101 are located.

FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are a perspective view and a top plan view,respectively, of clip 101, showing elongated portion 104, hook 105, andtab 106. As shown, tab 106 has a plateau 113 formed thereon for aligningand maintaining tab 106 in a slidable relationship with rails 114 (asshown in FIG. 5). While the details of tab-latch component 111 are notfully visible in FIG. 2, it can be seen that tab-latch component 111 isdisposed distally from plateau 113 with respect to elongated portion104. A pair of protrusions 115 adjacent to and on opposite sides ofplateau 113 are located so as to engage lips 116 (shown in FIG. 4 andFIG. 5) to inhibit tab 106 from sliding completely out of slot 108. Apair of recesses 117 are formed in tab 106 to prevent interference withanchor blocks 118 (shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5) when clip 101 is in arecessed position.

Referring now to FIG. 4, it can be seen that slot-latch component 112 isa substantially fixed component disposed within slot 108. The details ofslot-latch component 112 are best seen in FIG. 5 through FIG. 8,wherein, for clarity, reference numerals for some components are omittedfrom some of the drawings, even though the same components are presentin all of FIG. 5 through FIG. 8. Slot-latch component 112 includes agenerally heart-shaped wall 120 defining a substantially enclosed spaceexcept for a single opening or portal 121 provided therein. Within thearea confined by wall 120, a somewhat heart-shaped nest 122 is provided.Together with nest 122, and specifically the outer surface thereof, wall120 defines an entrance track 123 and an exit track 124 leading from andtoward portal 121, respectively. A redirector 125 is provided betweenportions of wall 120 defining entrance and exit tracks 123 and 124.Redirector 125 is operatively positioned with respect to nest 122 toeffect latching and unlatching, as will be described in further detailbelow.

Nest 122 (as best seen in FIG. 6 through FIG. 8) is a substantiallysolid body defining a notch 126 facing redirector 125. Notch 126 has alonger entrance surface 127 and a somewhat shorter exit surface 128,which together form notch 126.

Redirector 125 (as best seen in FIG. 6 through FIG. 8) is a somewhatflattened M-shaped segment of wall 120, with an inner tip or pointthereof directed at notch 126 on the inner perimeter of wall 120.Redirector 125 includes an entrance surface 129, a latch-directingsurface 130, an unlatch-directing surface 131, and an exit surface 132.

A guide surface 133 is provided at portal 121, to ensure smooth entry oftab-latch component 111 into slot-latch component 112, as will now bedescribed.

Tab-latch component 111 is provided at an inner end 134 of tab 101.Tab-latch component 111 includes a follower 136 substantially fixed inan axial direction relative to tab 106, but translatable in a directiontransverse to the axial direction. Thus, follower 136 includes a pin 137on a sled 138 contained in and slidable along a slot 139. Follower 136is freely movable along slot 139, from one end 140 of slot 139 to theopposite end 141 thereof.

A biasing mechanism 142 is provided on end 135 and includes a leafspring 143 secured to anchor blocks 118 on opposite ends thereof. Leafspring 143 extends over slot-latch component 112 to engage inner end 134of tab 106.

Tab-latch component 111 and slot-latch component 112 together form a“push-push” mechanism enabling a user to move clip 101 back and forthbetween a recessed position and a protruding position with successivedepressions of clip 101 toward recess 103, as will now be described.

Moving clip 101 to a recessed position with respect to housing 102occurs as follows. With tab 106 positioned in slot 108, one end 140 ofslot 139 is substantially aligned with portal 121 such that, with sled138 positioned substantially adjacent slot end 140, pin 137 will enterportal 121 as tab 106 is slid into slot 108. Guide surface 133 adjacentportal 121 is angularly disposed relative to the axial direction of slot108. If sled 138 is positioned away from slot end 140, toward slot end141, then pin 137 will encounter and slide along guide surface 133,moving follower 136 toward slot end 140 so that pin 137 will enterportal 121. Thus, regardless of the initial position of follower 136 astab 106 is slid into slot 108, pin 137 will enter portal 121 and movealong entrance track 123. This incoming position is illustrated in FIG.6.

With further relative axial movement of tab 106 with respect to slot108, pin 137 advances along entrance track 123 until it encountersentrance surface 129 of redirector 125. With still further axial inwardmovement of tab 106, follower 136 slides along entrance surface 129,thus moving sled 138 away from slot end 140. As tab 106 reaches thefully inserted position, inner end 134 encounters and compresses leafspring 143, and pin 137 encounters latch-directing surface 130. Since,at this point, clip 101 is fully inserted into recess 103, a user willnaturally release clip 101, terminating axially inward pressure on tab106. Leaf spring 143 urges tab 106 outward slightly, causing pin 137 toslide along and off of latch-directing surface 130 to nest in notch 126.As pin 137 enters notch 126, pin 137 is directed therein also byentrance surface 127 of notch 126, which moves follower 136 stillfurther toward slot end 141. With continued axially outward-biasingforce from spring 143, tab 106 is held securely in slot 108, with pin137 nested in notch 126. This latched position of tab-latch component111 and slot-latch component 112 is illustrated in FIG. 7. Outward forceapplied to clip 101, by pulling or the like, will not dislodge pin 137from notch 126.

To release tab-latch component 111 and slot-latch component 112 from oneanother and move clip 101 to a protruding position, clip 101 is pushedinward slightly. From the nested position within notch 126, pin 137 ismoved outwardly toward redirector 125, encountering unlatch-directingsurface 131 and not latch-directing surface 130, as a result of theslight transverse movement of follower 136 as it nested into notch 126.Sliding along unlatch-directing surface 131, follower 136 movestransverse to the axial direction still further toward slot end 141, andpin 137 encounters exit surface 132. With just slight movement, tab 106is again fully inserted into slot 108, such that it cannot be advancedfurther therein. Again, the natural tendency of the user is to releaseand terminate further inward pressure on clip 101. Leaf spring 143 againmoves tab 106 outwardly when the inward pressure is released. Pin 137follows along exit surface 132, and pin 137 enters exit track 124. Thisexit position is shown in FIG. 8. Force from spring 143 moves clip 101out from recess 124 and into a protruding position. While, in theembodiment shown, pin 137 exits from portal 121 when clip 101 is in aprotruding position, thereby possibly permitting clip 101 to be removedcompletely from housing 102, in other embodiments, it is possible toomit portal 121, such that clip 101 cannot be removed from housing 102.

Thus, a push-to-recess and push-to-protrude recessible integrated pocketclip for mobile devices and the like is provided. Tracks 123 and 124 canbe relatively shallow, and pin 137 can be relatively short, so thatlatch components 111, 112 do not contribute significantly to thethickness of tab 106 and slot 108.

It should be understood that the various parts and components can bereversed. In its simple form, the latch mechanism described aboveincludes tab-latch component 111 on tab 106 and slot-latch componentwithin slot 108. In the first embodiment described above, one of thelatch components, i.e., slot-latch component 111 in slot 108, is a trackcomponent. The other of the latch components, i.e., tab-latch component111 on tab 106, includes follower 136, which is movable relative to thetracks in this embodiment. However, it should be understood that thelatch components can be reversed, with the substantially fixed componentlocated within slot 108 and the latch component translatable transverseto the axial direction positioned on tab 106. Still other variations andmodifications are possible.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a mobile device 200 including arecessible integrated pocket clip 201, consistent with a secondembodiment of the present invention. Mobile device 200 has a housing 202having formed therein a recess 203 adapted to receive clip 201, so thatthe outer face of the elongated portion 204 of clip 201 is flush withhousing 202. Clip 201 has a hook 205 at a bottom end of elongatedportion 204 and a tab 206 at a top end of elongated portion 204. Thecontours of recess 203 are formed to match the contours of clip 201.Accordingly, as shown in broken lines within housing 202, a bottom endof recess 203 is formed as a hook area 207 for receiving hook 205, and atop end of recess 203 is formed as a slot 208 for receiving tab 206.

Tab 206 is sufficiently smaller than the open area defined by slot 208and is slidably disposed within slot 208 to permit clip 201 to travelbetween a position in which clip 201 is recessed within housing 202 anda position in which clip 201 protrudes from housing 202. The secondembodiment is similar to the first embodiment (of FIG. 1 through FIG.8), except that there is no latching mechanism or spring in the secondembodiment, and clip 201 slides freely back and forth when a user pullsout or pushes in clip 201. Accordingly, in the second embodiment, acatch 250 is provided to prevent clip 201 from exiting housing 202 whenfully pulled out.

Returning now to FIG. 1, a switch 109 or other activation mechanism canbe provided, in certain embodiments of the invention, within slot 108,or elsewhere, to indicate to mobile device 100 whether the clip is in arecessed or protruding position. Such an indication can be used tocontrol one or more functions of mobile device 100. For example, themobile device 100 could be placed in a “sleep mode,” a reduced-powerstate, or completely powered-down state, whenever clip 101 is in arecessed position. Alternatively, the indication from switch 109 can beused to activate or deactivate other functions of a mobile device. Forexample, if the mobile device is a mobile phone, the indication fromswitch 109 could be used to automatically change a ring-tone mode to avibrate or silent mode. This feature could be used, e.g., when the userenters an auditorium or movie theater, removes the phone from a positionin which the phone is clipped to the user's clothes, depresses the clipto cause the clip to be recessed, and puts the phone in the user'spocket.

With reference to FIG. 11, a block diagram of an exemplary mobile phone300 including a processor 390 and an activation mechanism 309 is shown.In this embodiment, instead of being a mechanical switch, activationmechanism 309 is a Hall-effect sensor mounted within the housing (notshown in FIG. 11) of mobile phone 300, which interacts with one or morepermanent magnets or magnet arrays (not shown in FIG. 11) mounted on arecessible integrated pocket clip (e.g., element 101 in FIGS. 1 through8; not shown in FIG. 11), to produce an output signal. This outputsignal, which could be a binary signal (e.g., a single-line interrupt toindicate either a fully-recessed or fully-protruding position of theclip), or alternatively, a variable signal indicative of how far theclip is recessed/protruding, is provided to processor 390 to control oneor more functions of mobile phone 300. Processor 390 is adapted, uponreceipt of the signal, to perform one or more predetermined functions,including, without limitation, volume or ring type change, or powerreduction. Another possible function could be antenna selection, ifmobile phone 309 has multiple transmit/receive antennas. In thisscenario, when the clip is extended and mobile phone 309 is placed in auser's pocket, antenna diversity could automatically be disabled, suchthat a single outward-facing antenna is the only transmit/receiveantenna active, while reception at the other antennas would be degradedbecause of the absorption of signals by the user's body. In embodimentswhere activation mechanism 309 is adapted to provide variable outputsignals, such signals could be pulse-code modulated (PCM) signals, whichprocessor 390 decodes and uses to effect various functionality Suchvariable output signals also permit tracking of the direction and/orspeed of clip movement, which could have utility for various functions,such as enabling an audio-file (e.g., MP3) and/or video-file (e.g., MPG,AVI, WMV, 3GPP) play mode when the clip is “double-clicked” by two rapidconsecutive presses or when the clip is pressed and held in a recessedposition for a certain duration before being released to a lockedposition.

Instead of using a Hall-effect sensor for activation mechanism 309, avariable output signal could alternatively be provided byelectromechanical means, such as an array of mechanical switches used togenerate signals that are received and processed by processor 390.

Although the housing and clip components described above are desirablymade of molded plastic, other materials are possible, and the housing,clip, and other related components can be made in various shapes andsizes. While a housing is generally described herein as a housing for amobile device, it should be understood that the principles of thepresent invention are equally applicable to other items that mightdesirably include a recessible integrated pocket clip. Such items mayinclude, e.g., eyeglass cases, purses, wallets, business-card holders,passport holders, nametag holders, photo ID holders, etc.

It should be understood that, although, in the embodiments describedabove, a recessible clip fits completely within a recess so that it isflush with a planar surface of the housing in a recessed or stowed-awayposition and extending from the housing in a protruding or usableposition, other clip arrangements are possible in which a clip travelsinward and outward with respect to the housing without the clip portionever being completely recessed when in a stowed-away position orcompletely protruding when not in a stowed-away position. For example,in an embodiment in which the surface of the housing into which the clipis recessible has a non-planar surface, the contours of the clip mayprotrude to match the contours of that surface of the housing, and aportion of the clip may still protrude from the housing when the clip isin a recessed or stowed-away position. Alternatively, the clip could berecessible to a stowed-away position in which the outer surface of theclip is sunk below the outer surface of the housing.

The term “clip,” as used in the embodiments described above, should notbe construed as limiting the type of fastener that can be used as partof the present invention, and it is contemplated that fasteners otherthan clips could alternatively be used, such as, without limitation, abolt, a buckle, a button, a catch, a clasp, a latch, a lock, a rivet, ascrew, a zipper, a hook, a carabineer, a tie, hook-and-loop fastener, ora snap.

It will be further understood that various changes in the details,materials, and arrangements of the parts which have been described andillustrated in order to explain the nature of this invention may be madeby those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of theinvention as expressed in the following claims.

The use of figure numbers and/or figure reference labels in the claimsis intended to identify one or more possible embodiments of the claimedsubject matter in order to facilitate the interpretation of the claims.Such use is not to be construed as necessarily limiting the scope ofthose claims to the embodiments shown in the corresponding figures.

Reference herein to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connectionwith the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of theinvention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in variousplaces in the specification are not necessarily all referring to thesame embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments necessarilymutually exclusive of other embodiments. The same applies to the term“implementation.”

1. Apparatus comprising: a housing having a recess formed therein; and afastener, wherein: at least a portion of the fastener is adapted to fitwithin the recess; and the fastener is adapted to travel slidably withinthe recess between a first position in which the fastener enables theapparatus to be fastened to an external object and a second position inwhich the fastener is stowed away.
 2. The invention of claim 1, whereinthe fastener is adapted to travel between the first position and thesecond position and from the second position to the first position usinga push-push scheme.
 3. The invention of claim 1, wherein the apparatusis a mobile device, and further comprising a switch adapted to controlone or more functions of the mobile device based on the position of thefastener.
 4. The invention of claim 3, wherein the one or more functionscomprise reducing power to at least a portion of the mobile device. 5.The invention of claim 3, wherein the one or more functions compriseactivating, deactivating, or changing a ring tone or a vibrationfunction of the mobile device.
 6. The invention of claim 3, wherein theone or more functions comprise enabling or disabling one or moreantennas of the mobile device.
 7. The invention of claim 3, wherein theswitch is a Hall-effect sensor.
 8. The invention of claim 3, wherein theswitch provides a variable signal indicative of the distance of thefastener from either a recessed or a protruding position.
 9. Theinvention of claim 8, wherein the switch provides signals indicative ofthe direction and/or speed of movement of the fastener.
 10. Theinvention of claim 3, wherein the one or more functions compriseenabling or disabling an audio and/or video play mode.
 11. The inventionof claim 3, wherein the one or more functions are controlled by apredetermined number of successive movements of the fastener.
 12. Theinvention of claim 3, wherein the one or more functions are controlledby holding the fastener in a predetermined position for a predeterminedtime duration.
 13. The invention of claim 1, wherein the fastener is aclip.
 14. The invention of claim 1, wherein: the fastener has a tab(e.g., tab 106); the recess has a slot (e.g., slot 108); and the slot isadapted to receive the tab slidably therein.
 15. The invention of claim14, wherein: the tab has a tab-latch component; the slot has aslot-latch component; and the tab-latch component and the slot-latchcomponent cooperate to form a push-push mechanism enabling the fastenerto move between the first and second positions.
 16. The invention ofclaim 15, wherein the push-push mechanism comprises a generallyheart-shaped pathway and a follower disposed within the pathway.
 17. Theinvention of claim 1, wherein the entire fastener is adapted to fitwithin the recess while in a stowed-away position.
 18. The invention ofclaim 1, further comprising a biasing mechanism adapted to bias thefastener in a direction away from the recess.
 19. The invention of claim1, further comprising a catch adapted to prevent the fastener from beingfully removed from the housing.